Review for Parents:

A short informational packet for parents considering circumcision for their son.

Why Circumcision?

The choice to circumcise your son may be a personal parental decision or a religious decision.

Remember, this is your child and the responsibility for his care is yours. Your decision to circumcise should not be based on the advice of others or pressure from extended family. You are his legal guardian and this should be a decision that comes from discussion between you and your partner.

Research suggests there are medical benefits to circumcision. These include the following:

A slightly lower risk of urinary tract infections (UTI). A circumcised infant boy has about a 1 in 1,000 chance of developing a UTI in the first year of life, whereas an uncircumcised infant boy has about a 1 in 100 chance of developing a UTI in the first year of life.

Prevention of foreskin infections.

Prevention of phimosis, a condition in uncircumcised males that makes foreskin retraction impossible/painful.

A lower risk of getting sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s) including HIV and other ulcerogenic STD’s.

A lower risk of developing cancer of the penis. However, this type of cancer is very rare in both circumcised and uncircumcised males.

Easier genital hygiene.

It is important to inform you that the BC College of Physicians and Surgeons does not consider circumcision a medically necessary procedure. The College’s policy can be found at: http://www.cpsbc.ca/cps/physicians_resources/publications/resource_manual/malecircum

Preparation

One Hour Before:

No further feedingGive him Tylenol (80mg/ml)Apply Emla Cream to the surface and base of the penis. After, cover the penis with saran wrap or something similar (a 1 inch wide strip wrapped around) to prevent the Emla numbing cream from absorbing into the diaper.

In the Office:

To further numb the penis, Dr. Hansen will give your son a Xylocaine anaesthetic injection at the base of the penis.

During the Procedure:

Your son will be given a sugar-water solution to further soothe him during the procedure.

Method of Circumcision:

The Plasti-bell method. Dr. Hansen will explain this procedure at your appointment. The procedure begins 10 minutes after the Xylocaine injection, and takes approximately 10 minutes.

Following the Circumcision:

We encourage you to nurse or bottle feed your son. Once he is done feeding, Dr. Hansen will check the circumcision with you and review circumcision care before you leave.

Potential Complications

Problems after a circumcision are very rare. The complication rates reported in literature are between 0.2% and 0.6% including:

Significant post-circumcision bleeding requiring medical attention.

Phimosis, or narrowing of the shaft skin opening over the head of the penis, requiring medical intervention.

Infection requiring antibiotics.

Meatal stenosis, or narrowing of the urethra, requiring medical intervention.

Trauma to the head of the penis.

Please call Dr. Hansen’s office if any of the following should occur:

Your baby does not void within six hours after the circumcision.

There is persistent bleeding.

There is redness around the tip of the penis that gets worse after 2-3 days.

After the Procedure

Keep him swaddled as you would normally at this age.

In the first 24 hours, check the diaper for any signs of active bleeding.

At least once a day, check the diaper for any bleeding.

It is normal for your son to be a little fussy for the first 12-24 hours after the circumcision.

He may need additional Tylenol during this time.

Appropriate Age/Weight for Circumcision

Circumcision is ideally done at 7-14 days of age, but can be done up to one month of age at our clinic. Weight: 6-12 lbs.

Dr. Hansen has a full-time Family practice and presently schedules up to 2 procedures per day.